Sattapa Govind Mohite And ORS. v. The State Of Maharashtra Thr. Secretary Dept. Of Rural And Water Conservation Dept. And ORS.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1623 OF 2026 Sattapa Govind Mohite and others.
... Petitioners
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others.
... Respondents WRIT PETITION (STAMP) NO. 2966 OF 2026 Mohan Tukaram Kalekar and others.
... Petitioners
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others.
... Respondents WRIT PETITION (STAMP) NO. 2965 OF 2026 Raghunath Ukharam Gangurde and others.
... Petitioners
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others.
... Respondents WRIT PETITION (STAMP) NO. 2943 OF 2026 Nivruti Krishna Kumbhar and others.
... Petitioners
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others.
... Respondents WRIT PETITION (STAMP) NO. 2932 OF 2020 Babasaheb Dattatray Mane and others ... Petitioners
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others.
... Respondents .............
Mr. Datta Pawar, i/b Eshan Nayak and Ms Sakshi Janar, counsel for Petitioners in all petitions.
Mr. Kedar Lad, a/w Ms Poonam Dhotre, for Respondent Nos. 4 and 5. Mr. S.B. Kalel, AGP for Respondent/State (W.P. 1623/2026) Mr. V.M. Mali, AGP for Respondent/State (W.P. St.2966/2026) Ms. T.J. Kapre, AGP for Respondent/State (W.P. St. 2965/2026)
Mr. A.A. Naik, AGP for Respondent/State (W.P. St. 2943/2026) Mr. A.P. Vanarase, AGP for Respondent/State (W.P. St. 2932/2026) .............
CORAM : MADHAV J. JAMDAR AND PRAVIN S. PATIL, JJ.
DATE : APRIL 16, 2026.
P.C.
1.
At the outset, leave to amend in the Writ Petition (Stamp) No. 2966 of 2026 is granted. Necessary amendment be carried out forthwith. Reverification is dispensed with.
2.
In all these writ petitions, an identical issue is raised and common prayer is made for directions to be issued to the respective authorities to decide their pending representations.
3.
In the present case, the grievance raised by the petitioners is that, as per the policy of the State Government dated 31/10/1989, they are entitled for an additional increment for their good and excellent work in the department. However, the same was not released in their favour. Subsequently, State Government issued a resolution dated 24/08/2017 stating that employees would not be entitled for the benefit of additional increment for period from 2009 to 2016.
4.
This Court, in a catena of judgments, has clarified that the Government Resolution dated 24/08/2017 has prospective effect and cannot be applicable retrospectively.
5.
In the light of this legal position, petitioners made the representations before the appointing authorities to consider their grievance in the light of decision of this Court. However, it is pointed out that, till date, pending representations has not been decided by the respective authorities. The details of the petitioners' case numbers, the authority to whom the representation was made, and the date of representation are given as under :- Case No.
Authority to decide representation Representation's date Page No.
WP St./ 2943/2026 Zilla Parishad Kolhapur through CEO (Resp. No.4) 09/03/2026 27-107 WP St. / 2965/2026 Zilla Parishad Kolhapur through CEO (Resp. No.4) 13/03/2026 23-56 WP St/ 2966/2026 Zilla Parishad Kolhapur through CEO (Resp. No.4) 30/03/2026 and 01/04/2026 36-204 WP St/ 2932/2026 Zilla Parishad Satara through CEO (Resp. No.4) 10/03/2026 37-101 W.P.1623/2026 Zilla Parishad Kolhapur through Deputy CEO Gram Panchayat Department (Res.No.4) 09/03/2026 25-76 6.
In view of the above said factual position and the fact that the petitioners have raised a limited grievance, the present petitions can be disposed of by directing the Zilla Parishad, Kolhapur/Satara to decide
pending representations within a time bound period. Accordingly, we pass the following order:- a] Writ petitions are partly allowed.
b] The Zilla Parishad Kolhapur and Satara in respective writ petitions are hereby directed to decide the respective representation of the petitioners within a period of three months from the date of this order.
7.
Writ Petition stands disposed of. No order as to cost. (PRAVIN S. PATIL, J.) (MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.) RKN